Grave Review — Cynthia Thomason

In the second of the Jubilee Showboat Mysteries, Gwen Barlow, her mother, brother and a cast of colorful performers face another murder mystery on the Jubilee Palace showboat. This time the Jubilee has stopped in Moss Hollow, Kentucky, hometown of the troupe's lead actress, Marianne Dresden. However, Gwen soon learns that the ingenue's real name is Mary Alice Kobb, and she left her parents' cabin and a big secret behind when she ran away from the repressive river town run by the influential Diggers family. Gwen's hopes to avoid problems with the Kobbs are dashed when Mary Alice's coarse backwoods father, Shelby, is found dead on the Jubilee deck, strangled with a length of barbed wire. Sheriff Diggers orders the Jubilee to stay in port until the murder is solved. Gwen combs the town and countryside in search of clues so her beloved showboat can move on. While Mary Alice and other members of the Jubilee family are suspects, Gwen discovers that several people in Moss Hollow, including Shelby's own wife and sons, had reasons for wanting to see the unpleasant farmer done in. Gwen must deal with small-town prejudice, an overly zealous country preacher who takes a fancy to her, and a crude moonshiner who once courted Mary Alice. Luckily, she still has the handsome showboat captain, Carson Stockwell, on her side. Before the murder is solved, Gwen is granted a miraculous gift far beyond her wildest dreams that will change her life forever. But she almost loses this chance for happiness when she faces a horrifying end at the hands of the Moss Hollow killer.

Cynthia Thomason and her husband reside in Florida.